Sadly, The Chase Begins answers few of these questions. Those it addresses are done so in a disappointingly incomplete or banal manner. In fact, the entire story of The Chase Begins feels like it was cobbled together without enough time to do it justice. Characters, including Chase himself, are barely introduced and completely undeveloped. Dunby simply hates Chase from the start, for seemingly no reason. Chase and Natalia's relationship is confusing, as they go from complete strangers to a giggly romantic couple completely off-stage. The generic villains are quickly introduced, immediately defeated, and never seen again. Storyline threads are introduced and then dropped completely as Chase moves on to the next set of missions.

Even the narrative of Chase's police career feels incomplete and disappointing. It seems like this game's script was set in stone before the final narrative of the Wii U game was cemented. Events that are described in Lego City Undercover happen differently in The Chase Begins. Chase meets several characters in the 3DS game, like Professor Kowalski and Forrest Blackwell, that he supposedly met for the first time in the Wii U game. In essence, the story in The Chase Begins is both internally inconsistent and contradictory with the story in the original LEGO City Undercover game. New players will find it dull and LEGO City Undercover fans will find it highly unsatisfactory.

In my final estimation, it simply appears that TT Fusion didn't have the time or resources to properly produce a portable version of LEGO City Undercover creating its excellent Wii U game. I'd complain that the game is over almost as quickly as it begins, but I was already tired of it by the time the credits rolled. Compare that to the Wii U game, which I am still exploring to find all the secrets long after finishing the main campaign.

With so many great games available on the 3DS, there's no reason for gamers to subject themselves to this under baked, disjointed, and sometimes tedious experience. Get LEGO City on Wii U or buy a better LEGO game on a platform you own.

ByBecky Cunningham
Contributing Writer
Date: April 22, 2013

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.4

GraphicsEven with decent technical quality for the 3DS, the graphics fail to portray LEGO City properly.

2.6

ControlThe controls work, but gameplay, especially the too-frequent combat, is mind-numbingly dull after a short while.

2.5

Music / Sound FX / Voice ActingThe recycled music is fine, but the sound effects are obnoxious and there's almost no voice acting.

2.4

Play ValueThe main campaign is a dull slog despite being short. This version of LEGO City simply isn't interesting to explore.

2.5

Overall Rating - AverageNot an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.